Aveline's POV

I wake up as the sun rises.  The first thing I think about is the dream that I had.  Could Lorand really still be out there?

I have an idea.  I’ll try and find that girl Harriet and ask her, since she’s the only person that would know for sure.  I pick out a red gown and put that on, then braid my hair and go out, only to run into Morden.

“Good morning, Aveline,” he says.

“Good morning, your majesty,” I reply, trying not to tremble.

He laughs, and it frightens me.  “You’re awfully excited about something, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I am.”

“What is it?”

I have to think as fast as possible.  “I would like to read some books today, and I heard that the castle has an excellent library.”

“Do you need someone to show you where it is?”  Morden smiles eerily.  Oh no.  Unsure of what to say, I just stand there awkwardly.  I don’t want to go anywhere with him!  Then he calls out, “Harriet!  Lady Aveline needs you!”

I’m surprised.  But then again, the king never seems to do anything himself.

Harriet runs up to us.  “Yes, m’lady?”

“Could you please take me to the library?” I ask.

She nods and starts walking down the hallway.  As I follow her, I look over my shoulder to see if King Morden’s still there, but he’s already gone.  I push Harriet into a room as we pass it and close the door behind us.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m sorry, that wasn’t polite of me at all, but I really need to talk to you,” I tell her.

“About what?”

I take a deep breath.  “About Prince Lorand.”

Harriet turns pale and looks at a random spot in the room.  “Prince Lorand is dead.”

“Weren’t you the one who had to kill him?”

Her mouth falls open.  “How do you know?” she whispers.

“I saw the king tell you to murder him.”

She puts her face in her hands.  “You saw that?”

“Yes.”

There’s a long silence.  Then she says, “I didn’t kill him.”

What?  “You didn’t?”

“I brought him into the woods to murder him, but I couldn’t do it.  He was like a brother to me.  So I told him to run.  King Morden wanted his heart, so I gave him a pig’s heart instead.”

Of course!  Lorand is alive!  I knew it!  Or at least I thought I knew it.  Either way, I’m so happy!  “Where is he?”

“I-I don’t know.”

“Can you bring me to the spot where you were?”

She nods.

Half an hour later, Harriet stops at a large tree.  “Here.”

I adjust the brown riding cloak she let me borrow and look around.  The trees are blocking out the sunlight, making the forest dark and spooky.  Poor Lorand must have been terrified.  I know I would be.

“He ran that way, I think.”  Harriet points north and steers her horse around, ready to go back to the castle.

“Wait!”

She turns back around.

“Thank you for saving him.”  I smile, and she smiles back before riding off.

The dismal landscape sends shivers down my spine.  Part of me wants to go back and enjoy the warmth of the castle, maybe go to the library, but I have to find Lorand.  He could be anywhere.  I cluck at the horse I’m riding, and we go in the direction that Harriet pointed toward.

Suddenly a bunny darts into our path.  The horse stops and backs up.  More animals surround us.  This is strange.

“Um, hello,” I say nervously.  “Have you seen a boy about my age recently?”

One of the deer bends down and points its nose at the ground.  To my surprise, I see human footprints in between the fallen leaves.

“Thank you so much!”  I gallop after the footprints.

Soon I find myself in a clearing with a beautiful little cottage in the middle of it.  He has to be here!  However, as I approach it, a tiny old woman runs out and tries to shoo me away.

“What do you want?” she asks.

“I-I’m looking for a boy…”

“What boy?  There are no boys around here!”

“Please, just let me…”

“Gladys!” a familiar voice calls out.  I gasp as Lorand darts out of the house.  “It’s okay!  It’s Aveline!”

“Ave-who?”

“Aveline, my friend.”  Lorand says, beaming up at me.  “Aveline, this is Gladys.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” I tell her.

She snorts and struts back to the cottage.

“Here, let me help you down.”  I take Lorand’s hand, and he helps me dismount my horse.

I look at the cottage.  “Is it just you and Gladys here?”

He laughs and shakes his head.  “No, there are more.  Many more.  Martha is inside reading with Charlotte, and Millie was tending to her garden, but she’s napping now.  Lilac, Nellie, and Ruth are out gathering herbs and berries.  They were all so kind to let me stay with them.”

“It’s like you have seven little grandmothers!”

Lorand smiles.  “Yeah.”

“That’s so sweet!”

He takes my horse and ties the reins to a tree.  “Maybe one day you can meet all of them.”

“I’d like that.”

“Lorand!” Gladys calls out.  “Go get some firewood!  We’re running low!”

Lorand chuckles.  “Would you like to go with me?”

“All right.”

“So,” Lorand asks as we walk through the forest, “how did you find me?”

I can’t tell him that without telling him everything.  I sit down on a log and he sits down next to me.  I take a deep breath, preparing myself.  “I’ll start from the beginning.”

“Okay.”

“Yesterday after you brought me to Morden’s room, I found him talking to a magic mirror.  I know it sounds ridiculous, but that’s what I saw.”

Lorand nods.  “I know exactly what you’re talking about.  He’s always asking it about the best ruler of them all.”

“Yes.  That’s it.  Except this time, it said you would be in the near future.”

He shrugs.  “The mirror gets things wrong sometimes.  I’ll never be king.”

“Oh.  But Morden thought it was true.  I knew then what he was planning to do to you, and it broke my heart, so I followed him, hoping I could stop him.  But then he found Harriet and gave her a box and a dagger.  He told her to kill you and bring back your heart.”

“My heart?” Lorand whispers, trembling.  “He wanted my heart?”

“Yes.”  I wrap him in a hug. “It was terrifying.”

After a few seconds, he pulls away.  I think I see his cheeks redden.  “Continue.”

“Harriet left before I could talk to her, and I was too scared to confront Morden, so I went home.  Then my mother forced me to go back.  After dinner, Morden showed me what was inside the box.  I panicked and fainted.  I really thought you were dead.”

“What was inside the box?”

“I’m getting to that.  Later that night, I dreamt that you were actually alive somewhere.  So this morning, I talked to Harriet, and she said she’d helped you escape.  She’d used a pig heart to trick Morden.  She took me to where she’d last seen you and pointed me in the direction that you ran.  Some animals found your footprints, and I followed them here.”

“Wow,” Lorand says in awe.  “I can’t believe… you knew I wasn’t dead… you found me…”  He kisses me on the cheek.  We both blush.  “Um, let’s go get that firewood,” he says.